The present invention relates to a casino-style game apparatus and method for playing a game having a plurality of game segments played substantially together and displayed using a three-dimensional representation. The invention relates further to casino-type games best known as slot machines games. Furthermore, these games are played on electronic gaming devices.
Slot machines games are not new in the business. They were created many years ago and have been subject to many developments since.
The first kind of slot machine game on the market were one with mechanic reels. These machines became very popular when the technology of using step motors were used to drive the outcomes of the mechanical reels. Therefore, the outcome of the games stopped depending of the mechanical portion of the machine, but only on a random number generator determining previous to the final position of the reels the final outcome of the game. Since then, mechanical slot machines have been very popular.
However, the mechanical slot machines have an important limitation: the configuration of the reels. Hence forth, new configurations of games have been developed such as the 8 line slot games. For this game, game developers needed nine (9) reels disposed in a matrix manner. The best way to do that was on electronic gaming devices; gaming cabinets offering an electronic display allowing to display virtual reels without having the problem of physical configuration.
Nevertheless, independent of the type of display used, mechanic or electronic, the outcome of the games are determined by a random number generator.
To obtain interesting displays offering new possibilities to game developers, the industry needed more powerful game platforms with more powerful processors and more memory, etc. During the last decade while the electronic gaming devices started to become popular, technology offered new developments. It is now possible to offer games demanding a lot from the platform. Therefore, technology is ready for new demands.
The taste of the customer also has changed during the last decade. At this moment in the history of the electronic gaming business, gamers want games offering more winning possibilities, more action, games with fewer losing streaks.
It is the objective of the invention to present a game offering new interest to gamers by offering a new, innovative and interesting display.
Another objective is to provide more possibilities of winnings within a single play.
Another objective is to provide gamers new possibilities of winnings that were not possible before the present invention.
According to the objectives above, the invention consists of a new innovative method of displaying a game on the screen of an electronic gaming device. Furthermore, it is a method of displaying a slightly changed game as relates to slot games, with more possible wins, more action, therefore more bets from gamers. Consequently, the new display should allow gamers to clearly view the outcome in regard to each of these bets.
The method consists of: 1) using a three-dimensional structured layout in the game display with the primary plane or facet of the three-dimensional structured layout having central importance while leaving the secondary planes or facets with less importance, 2) displaying the basic playing structure of the game on the central plane, 3) allowing gamers to place bets on the central playing plane and on other numerous secondary planes, 4) starting the game with a display of moving symbols on all the different planes of the three dimensional structure until they are stopped, and 5) awarding prizes to the gamers in regard to the bets placed in the game on all planes of the three-dimensional structure, therefore in regards to the different playing displays of the game.
To allow gamers to view their wins and losses, the display allows gamers to clearly see all the different playing displays, therefore all planes of the three-dimensional structure where bets were placed. Furthermore, to accomplish it, there are two basic possibilities. First, to display one at a time each planes centrally in the center of the screen of the electronic gaming device. Two, to unfold the three-dimensional structure to simultaneously show all the different planes of the structure where bets were placed.
However, the second option allows gamers to see all the planes simultaneously, but does not display the planes as clearly as the first option.
New and innovative criteria of winning can be developed for this method of display, such as for a cubic structure to give winnings to gamers with an outcome comprising three identical symbols on adjacent corners of different playing planes.
Furthermore, the three-dimensional structure applied in this method of display can be in cube, tetrahedron, or even pyramidal structure, Many possibilities exists. The only limitation according to the method of display is to allow gamers to clearly view all information concerning the end outcome of the game.
The invention also provide a computer program comprising code means adapted to play a game with the execution of all steps of the method described above, embodied on a computer readable medium or embodied in an electrical or electromagnetic signal.